john: i'm john heilemann. mark: and i mark halperin. and with all respect to etiquette, that escalated quickly. ♪ mark: hello from washington, d.c. on this very amusing wednesday after donald trump's five state conquest. he and ted cruz trying to get media domination. rally,ng that up with a featuring chair-throwing basketball coach bobby knight. today, cruz had his own.

the processcuited by naming carly fiorina, former presidential candidate, as his running mate. >> after a great deal of time and thought, after a great deal of consideration and prayer, i have come to the conclusion, that if i am nominated to be president of the united states, but i will run on a ticket with my vice president told -- presidential nominee, carly fiorina. mark: fiorina also spoke. after being introduced, she took a shot at the red -- republican front-runner, donald trump. trump and hillary clinton are two sides of the same going. there was liberal, we know that. , like soary clinton

many politicians, she has made her millions selling access and influence from inside the system. and donald trump has made his billions buying people like hillary clinton. mark: so what does donald trump himself think of this pick? he gave a window into his thinking this morning, more than nine hours before cruz made the formal announcement, as rumors swirl. called into the morning shows, and reacted to the possibility of fiorina, on "good morning america." >> i think it would be a bad choice. i think. i did not resonate, not because she was a woman, but because she did not resonate with the people. i like her, she is a nice person, but she did not resonate, she was very low in the polls. at the end, she was an insignificant player. if he wants to bring harley

back, it is ok, but it is not the right person. mark: following the fiorina announcement, he tweeted the following. this is truly one of the greatest acts of desperation i have ever seen. eric trump was not the only one to say that. so john, was this well executed? john: i have seen a lot of desperate acts in my time, i work in journalism. but this is pretty desperate, the desperate act of a desperate campaign. the alliance between cruz and kasich is desperate, this is double-dog desperate. weakness, ith of changes the conversation a winle bit between trump's last night, and may be useful in the short-term. but i do not think fiorina will one iota.lp cruz

the press is saying it is gimmicky, you won't be the candidate. a stage by stage thing. republicans have to get through this next stage of a want to be cap. it means she has -- they have to win indiana. she could perhaps help with female voters across indiana. the press will say it is negative, but i say it is a net positive. i don't think it will help much, normally it is to prove you have good judgment. but trouble attack was mercilessly. i think the main challenge for cruz is to dominate the conversation. can he continue to dominate? john: close of the things trump has pointed out that are wrong and thesey fiorina,

more recent days, about not resonating with republican voters or being a successful candidate, the notion that she just did not get anything done as a candidate, suggest that the help she will do is actually minimal. actual running mates don't do that much for the ticket. this is hypothetical. mark: this has been the worst kept secret in republican news four days. -- done this in a huge surprise, it would've been better, i fault them for their execution. at the mayflower hotel here in washington, d.c., bill -- heave a different how a trump

administration might handle some of the trouble areas and the u.s.'s tough adversaries. like to talk about a new foreign policy direction for our country, one number isis randomness with purpose, ideology with a strategy, and chaos with teeth. -- peace. new vision.o invite america first will be the major and overwriting team of my administration. administration, no american citizen will ever feel that their needs come second to the citizens of a foreign country. [applause] i will view as president, the world through the clear lens of

american interests. i will be america's greatest defender and most loyal champion. we will not apologize for becoming successful again, but will instead embrace the heritage that makes us who we are. are a lot of reactions to this speech, which we will talk about next. one of the harshest critiques came from ted cruz's campaign, which blasted one of his advisers. after claiming that trump failed the presidential test, the cruz statement continues, he must , whothe role of maniford is known for his corruption -- engagement with corrupt regimes. in terms of policy and politics, how do you rate the trump speech? mark: the haters hate it, they

say it is not specific, it is inconsistent, it is not distinctive. name off it,rump's it was well organized and well and i thought it was just fine in presentation and delivery. also, in terms of policy. take away the hatred of trump and the idea that he is a fake and it funny that a lot of people have, but a lot of his policies to how the public would like to be. hillary clinton policy speech, or a george bush -- givencome on, she has incredibly intricate details with knowledge of the world, this speech may be a speech that

you would get someone to pass on that was a republican candidate a year ago. a candidate on the brink of winning the republican nomination who expresses a bunch of bromides, i don't have any idea beyond general platitudes and principles. sounds cases, he interventionist, and others, restraint area he talks about getting rid of isis, he has a bigger plan to do that, but won't talk about what it is. how can i possibly judge's argument? , i could findu you three paragraphs that would give more detail to answer this question, than any in his speech. a little late to be getting a first foreign-policy speech, but no more specific than -- john: nothing less speech gave me the confidence for him to be

commander in chief. mark: mixed reviews. chairman praised his party's front-runner, calling the remarks an important step for the tone of the presidential race. others were not so nice. he also got bipartisan panning from the right and left, joining together in anti-trump harmony. they criticize both his substance and style. tweeted, question number one for tom, are we sure the guy running the teleprompter has the pages in the right order? #not making any sense. also, he might be one of two people running our country, don't laugh people, go knock on some doors. negative reaction, i don't want to overstate how good it was, but what is a strong reaction,

often similar from the left and him is theabout nominee in november? john: he is unusual in this regard. he is normally a presidential candidate that the right more or less like, the left usually attacks. hishe is on my bike much of party and the establishment. he is going to hear a lot of criticism when it comes to things, especially in these area, especially from people in his own party. he faces this throughout his race. mark: no one has faced the double-barreled criticism. speechre things in the -- of course. does it lacks specifics? of course. but what it normally faced pounding from both sides? no, it would not. the corker thing was

distinctive. he cannot win an election if he is fighting eight two front war in both directions. john: some of the criticisms are that he is a you bid or unserious person during and you could make an argument for those is,s, but the bottom line on many issues of policy, people like lindsey graham disagree with donald trump. it is not just that they hate him. mark: i will say one more thing quickly. reporters checked their objectivity at the door. they mocked the speech in a way that was unprofessional. john: i think you would disagree that all major party nominees deserve intense scrutiny for the press and skepticism on all fronts. it onnald trump is owed the fact that he is not given a foreign-policy speech on any dimension. when we come back, donald trump defending his comment that

hillary clinton is doing better in the election because of her gender. we will talk about that and more after these words from our sponsors. ♪

john: welcome back. with all the news, it is easy to forget the news was huge for front runners in both parties. -- won fourton one

out of the five states. bernie sanders said he is laying off campaign supporters and focusing all his time on california. just whenmp did not all five states, but well above what we had projected at the high end of what he might rack up. governor rick scott called on campaign totrump stop. he says if they don't stop now, their efforts will be nothing more than a contribution to the clinton campaign. leavedo these victories the democratic and republican racist? neither clinton nor trunk and secure for the last day of voting, but she got what she now will be much easier. sanders saying he will lay people off only helps her. and trump could not have done any better, in terms of the

narrative. he was called the presumptive nominee last night. rick scott's of the cutting edge here, but republicans are now starting to say it is over unless he loses indiana. but trump is one win away from being able to say to people -- john: it and momentum. clinton had a mostly insurmountable lead already, and extended it. bernie sanders will not win the pledged delegates. the democratic side, effectively, unless there is a political lightning bolt. momentum-wise, she has it all. on trump, it is all indiana, largely over. there is one last shred of hope for the anti-trump. dangled fundraiser in front of rnc members to help those this out. the speech was not the only thing the donald trump is getting flack for today.

by now you have already heard that part of his victory speech last night a trump tower, when he said hillary clinton is only doing well on this race because of her gender. we will show you that sound bite, even though you may have already seen it. we have a hunch you will be hearing a lot about it in the coming months if he does become the republican nominee. let's go to the videotape. think the only card she has is the woman's card. she has nothing else going. if hillary clinton were a man, i don't think she would get 5% of the vote. the only thing she has going for card, and woman's most women don't like her. and look how well i did with women tonight. mark: he defended himself on the morning shows. it struck me as something that could hurt him. john: yes, it will hurt him if he continues down this path.

comment, but the huge problem has with female voters in this country. that was not the comments of somebody who understands that he is right now polling with 70% disapproval in women in the country, and he has to fix that problem if he is ever going to be president of the united states. the only made the problem worse. mark: bernie sanders can take on hillary clinton and a lot of five, but on the question of qualifications, given that she state, first of lady, and senator of new york, this will rub a lot of people she's notway, to say qualified except by virtue of being a woman. john: that comment is off key at a minimum, and offensive at a maximum to most women in the country. mitt romney won with females in 2012, donald trump has got to

fix this problem. our guest join us on the set after this. ♪

mark: joining us now, two guys we call the purple people, steve castellano's.lex they are our polling partners and a lot of who know a lot about politics read gentlemen, ink you for coming in. alex, you have added trouble with donald trump being the nominee. are you fully accepting the reality, or are you holding out hope? i think he had this thing one in march. he nearly lost it, and has won it back.

you are seeing the republican party becoming a lot more comfortable. the price of denying trump the nomination is so clear to everyone, that it would be so destructive, that is part of the bandwagon-effect. it is now not just about whether he has earned it, but will it destroy the party is denied to him. mark: is there anything he has , that you say, surprises me, that is a guy they could win steve: hel election? has gotten a little more daft, but this thing with cory reverting to his old self is an interesting one. every time he acts presidential even a little bit, you can start to see a candidate that is evolving and perhaps maturing. but then he goes off like you did half the time last night. if he runs a temper tantrum

campaign he will be destroyed. if he runs a good campaign, he i don'tbeat three alex: think hillary clinton has ever run against anyone with 10 arms and eight legs like donald trump. [laughter] the chances are better than 50-50. when you think about carly fiorina on the ticket? i think was a great plan for her to get her a delegate. i don't think she had any. [laughter] a guy asks a girl to the prom, she says no, and he still make dinner reservations. it demonstrates how irrelevant he became. he had value in the process for run reason, he was an alternative to trump. no one actually wanted cruz.

whether trump succeeds or fails, you don't actually need ted cruz. jealous think he was because he heard john kasich -- ted cruz did not want to lose anything to him, so he moved decisively. help him, heard him, or is it a wash? steve: he is so irrelevant at this point, it probably hurts them. it stresses that he is irrelevant. john: there is no question in your mind that trump will be the nominee? steve: i have been hoping for some time that this would be the case. this year, the impossible has already happened. could he win indiana, could a meteor hit? lands a a chance he handful of votes short, maybe

and denyl 200 votes him the nomination, and the party blows up. but i don't think it will happen. mark: rick scott read a statement earlier and said stop the stop trunk movement because now it is just helping hillary clinton. do think that will become more of a consensus view in the party? alex: i think you're right, the governor of florida is that debate. but it is beginning to sink in that the cost of denying trump the nomination causes chaos in the party. it is like the stock market, they can go up or down, but the one thing you want to avoid is uncertainty. right now, the republican party wants to bring certainty to the process. that is the trend. steve: they talk about the costs of denying the nomination to trump. on the other hand, a lot of his friends and mainstream

republicans are worried about what happens if trump is the nominee. does the senate go wonder, does the house of his -- representatives please? go donald.o, of tedf either choice cruz above me or donald trump, i would have a much better shot at being my own person and own candidate under donald trump. ted cruz is the narrowest possible expression of being a republican, but he is a republican. donald trump is the circus has come to town, look at me. [laughter] break, we wills talk more about the democrats, after this. ♪

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democratic and republican strategists. let's talk about democrats. all agree hillary is going to be the nominee. her big challenge is how do we get those sanders voters to like her. alex: she has one great card in her pocket. that is the republicans. if we can't unite the democratic party behind hillary clinton nothing will. she is going to head in that direction. there is no passion there for her. election fory home the democrats. if she tries to reach across the middle with the vice president pick, it could be passionless. i don't know what she can do other than moved to vermont and running, in.

overall a very important issues that he raised. with all the people bernie brought into the process. let's all get back together. she has already started this. john: a lot of sanders's don't like her. they don't want donald trump to be president. how can she get them passionately behind her? >> she can say i am a democrat. the differences between the candidates are usually so small that they get exaggerated. at the end of the day they will ore a choice between hillary donald trump were not showing up. they won't vote for trial. there are those who say trump can win.

trump's wildy the and can scramble things. are those roughly equal? i'm in thature camp. i think hillary has an enormous advantage. she starts with about 241 electoral votes. there's a strain of donald trump's argument is very similar to bernie sanders. working people are getting screwed. someone is taking your money. 6040.robably about to plan that he won't get any lift is crazy. mark: you have always thought that she is beatable.

do we need an indictment or do you think is there anyway way truck and beat her? alex: i don't think she knows who she is. i don't think anything comes naturally to her. she doesn't believe in anything she is not passionate about anything. she doesn't give people anything to be passionate about. her only card is that we have never had a woman president. even that seems to be inauthentic for her. she can hug bernie sanders by picking and elizabeth warren. you have this forced inauthentic candidate that doesn't inspire the voters.

i think she is eminently beatable in a general election. john: i would like to have it your offices sometimes. thank you. a former ambassador dies into donald trump's big foreign policy speech. if you are watching us in washington, you can also listen to us on the radio. we will be right back. ♪

mark: to talk more about donald trump's foreign policy speech, we learned a lot from the republican front-runner about what he thinks is wrong with the

current foreign policy. what he would do to fix america's standing in the world. here's a quick highlight reel. the countries we are defending must pay for the cost of this defense. if not, the united states must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves. we have no choice. our president has allowed china to continue its economic assault on american jobs and wealth refusing to enforce trade deals and apply leverage on china necessary terrain in north korea. an easing of tensions and improved relationship with russia from a position of .trength only is possible absolutely possible. then there is isis. i have a simple message for them. their days are numbered. i won't tell them where i won't tell them how.

we must as a nation be more unpredictable. mark: joining us now is stuart holliday. but so with that last point. this notion of being unpredictable. obama says we are sending 50 advisors into a certain place. notion in respectable foreign policy that our credibility in the commander-in-chief is a good idea? there's a difference between unpredictable behavior and keeping your cards close to the vest. nixon surprised everybody with the normalization of relations with china. that wasn't unpredictable. in the sense that it made sense

for our national interest. but it was a surprise. i think that he is looking at vladimir putin and the way he has gained and gotten nh on certain regional issues. seeing as plodding along and not really doing it. john: do you hear a serious person in that speech about world affairs? stewart: i actually do. when i see is somebody who believes that american leadership in the world has been eroded. that is not an uncommon theme among republican candidates. i also see this linkage between economic diplomacy and leverage. an effortalways been to engage diplomatically over here and then maybe have sanctions. but you don't really do anything to link economic consequences. he is a negotiator. use economic leverage to achieve dramatic outcomes. look at whatople

he is proposing. reagan tried to make allies pay more. a reason that something was totally iconoclastic and not beholden to the state department that he could change under president trump? obama's we saw with cairo speech that he can set the agenda. the presidency is a powerful bully pulpit. if the president makes burden sharing the most important thing in his presidency. that will get a lot of attention. do youstion to me is not chuck some bad of nato because they can't pay the bills. how do you link what they pay for it to their own national security. and thegee crisis middle east. is there a smart way to get them over the 2%. john: there are a lot of inherent inconsistencies the speech. there are places where he seems

hawkish and then he seems less so. is there a worldview here? an identifiable realist or idealists or isolationist worldview? stewart: i think it is a realist perspective. he sounds like summary who views democracy promotion and idealism about universal values versus american interests. that takes me back to the 70's in terms of how we view the world. i did hear inconsistencies. it is tough to have it all ways. timeframek that the that he laid out for prosecuting the struggle against islamic extremism indicates that he has got this view of this is the new communist threat. he used containment against this. building and putting the resources behind that will be

important. questionyou asking one what would it be? you decideen would to use military force? he left that up in the air. we talk about american national interests and our allies, we and treaty obligations. south china sea. south korea. whatwould we act and under circumstances? that is the highest responsibility of a president. we don't know exactly where he stands on that. mr. vasser, thank you. the hoosier state preview coming up with dan balls and jennifer jacobs. after this. ♪

john: here to talk more about the indiana primary and a whole lot more are jennifer jacobs and the great dan balls chief correspondent for the washington post. teased to the indiana primary. dan, is this republican race over? dan: if trump wins indiana and you very well in california can make the argument that there is still some day like there to seize on. every delegate you can deny trump is one less than 1237. after what happened last night, and trump far exceeded what

people predicted, it is awfully tough. jennifer: trump climbed out of bed this morning the king of the world. he was calling himself the presumptive nominee. he is well known in the northeast. this is not ted cruz territory. that is the bottom line. ted cruz selected carly fiorina. you think that may not of been his first choice? wanted himome people to check in with marco rubio. i did talk to a lot of republicans today who think that the carly choice was very smart. she is a she. he played the woman card. trump was frustrated with hillary for playing the woman card. she is popular with donors. she is well in her home state of

california. she didn't talk about california on the stump for a much but she is from california and she is well-liked there. she did well in a primary out there. in the generald election. there are many different benefits for this. she helped ted cruz step all over donald trump's big day today. what you expect to happen between now and the next primary? dan: press coverage is important. the effectiveness of the two candidates in spending time in that state. whether thereof will be a consolidation within the republican party slowly perhaps or grudgingly. around donald trump is the likely nominee.

mark: trump said all these people attack me but they want to be on board with me. you think he's telling the truth? dan: no doubt he is getting a lot of attention from people. i was struck by the statement that senator corker put out today. the four foreign relations committee. comments.ery measured it took seriously what trump was doing. a very establishment republican embracing trump. that is the kind of indication you are seeing that people are starting to wrap their heads around the idea that this man is likely to be our nominee. we have to come to terms with that. john: by all indications,

there's still a lot of turmoil in donald trump's world. in his campaign. usually losing campaigns have a lot of turmoil. this is a winning campaign but the turmoil seems to get greater the more he wins. what effect is that having? jennifer: there is some of us versus them tensions between the old guard that have been with him and say over 16 months that was very little infighting. palace intrigue and trump towers. now for the last three weeks since paul matt forte was hired there has been an endless stream of leaks to the press and all sorts of focus on process and the campaign's internal health or well-being. it is a fractured campaign. i think they're starting to learn how to get along with each other. and respect each other. we see if that makes a difference. taxation of the trump campaign. just had waited a few

weeks until after he won these primaries he might not have manafort.hire paul we'll see if that's true. john: you've covered a lot of campaigns. what is your sense of the dynamic in the trump campaign and how debilitating it could be if that continues to be a source of tension? dan: there is inevitably going to be tension. representsdowski donald trump on the stump. represents the trouble has to reach some kind of accord with the establishment. they want to have a smooth convention. he wants control over that convention. time, when paul goes into a closed meeting in florida and suggests that donald trump

is going to change his style donald trump rebels against that. i think he is playing both sides. he has to play both sides. way that theyy can avoid the attention they have. certainly they can learn to live with one another. these are people who have never worked together in a real way. they have to learn to do that. it is an inherent tension in what this campaign is right now. jennifer: it is interesting to see the reaction from republicans who are leery of donald trump. they are saying very different things behind closed doors. people are not sure what to believe. mark: is hillary on track to emerge stronger as a candidate for the general election? dan: not yet know. sanders has exacerbated the problem that she has. if you look at the recent polls on her image. she has got problems she has to deal with. the blessing she has is the

donald trump's problems are significantly greater. she does need to do something about that. we are in an environment where the fact that somebody has higher negatives and positives is not necessarily disqualifying. this is the nature of the kind of, where politics is right now. people look at politicians and they don't look at them very favorably. bernie sanders has favorable numbers but they are marginally favorable. think it is something that the clinton campaign can't take for granted. there's going to be tendency to look at them, to look at donald trump and say this guy is so beatable that if we just play our regular game it's fine. i don't think that's also problems or sets her up if in fact she wins the presidency to be an effective president.

jennifer: there were some olive branches in her speech. mentioning sanders by name and saying she applauds him. in his speech he never really mentioned her by name. he didn't really talk about the election at all. i hearing a lot on social media from sanders backers who are heartbroken that he is laying off staff. it will be interesting to see if hillary can embrace those feelings, those people who are feeling bad about this. how big a challenge to the party getting back together is? ago i would've said they recognize that it will be harder than they originally thought. i think after last night given the size of her victory and the signals were getting.

it might be a little less difficult. this is not entirely unusual within democratic contests. we've seen splits between the progressive left in the establishment center. they usually come together reasonably well. donald trump will be a big unifier for the democrats. hillary will be a unifier for the republicans. we don't know what the bottom , whats for bernie sanders he wants out of the convention and the platform. there is a group of sanders voters will be harder to bring around. they are there for bernie sanders. she will have trouble with that. mark: thank you. john: we'll be right back. ♪

john: check out bloomberg politics.com. a story about how a rival brand of oreo cookies try to benefit from donald trump's success. emily chang sits down with revolution ceo steve case. a lot going on in the wake of today's news. we will have it all for you tomorrow on with all due respect. sayonara. ♪ ♪

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better relations with russia and china. trump also said that america's allies need to do their part. our allies must contribute toward their financial and political costs. our tremendous security burden. look at the united states is weak and forgiving. they feel the obligation to honor their agreements. trump's speech came after his sweep of five northeastern primaries. ted cruz has named former candidate carly fiorina as his running mate. fiorina dropped out of the race earlier this year. for the third meeting in a row, the federal reserve has opted not to raise interest rates. the